If you've been following the negotiations between Major League Baseball and the Players Association, you know it's been like a long game of he said, she said. One side will offer a proposal, the other side rejects it and offers their own, the other side rejects it, and so on until we get where we are now.
According to multiple reports yesterday, the players have rejected the league's latest season proposal and do not plan to counter, forcing commissioner Rob Manfred's hand in unilaterally setting the 2020 schedule. The March 26 agreement between the league and its players allowed for a scenario in which Manfred is allowed to set the schedule on his own if the two sides cannot come to an agreement. ESPN's Jeff Passan reports that the players sent MLB a letter yesterday asking MLB to inform them how many games they will play and when to report.
The owners responded to the union in a statement issued Saturday evening, saying "We are disappointed that the MLBPA has chosen not to negotiate in good faith over resumption of play after MLB has made three successive proposals that would provide players, Clubs and our fans with an amicable resolution to a very difficult situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The MLBPA understands that the agreement reached on March 26th was premised on the parties’ mutual understanding that the players would be paid their full salaries only if play resumed in front of fans, and that another negotiation was to take place if Clubs could not generate the billions of dollars of ticket revenue required to pay players."
"The MLBPA’s position that players are entitled to virtually all the revenue from a 2020 season played without fans is not fair to the thousands of other baseball employees that Clubs and our office are supporting financially during this very difficult 2020 season. We will evaluate the Union’s refusal to adhere to the terms of the March Agreement, and after consulting with ownership, determine the best course to bring baseball back to our fans.” Of course, throughout these negotiations, the league has not offered much of what the players want. Each proposal the owners have offered resulted in roughly the same amount of pay for the players, but worded differently each time. The players want their full prorated salaries, no matter how many games they play or if there are fans in attendance. That's what the players believe they agreed to in March, but it seems as if the owners didn't view the agreement that way. If the two sides cannot reach any kind of agreement going forward, the harm done to Major League Baseball could be irreparable. The strike in 1994 damaged the reputation of the game, and if other leagues such as the NBA and NHL are able to come back from a COVID delay but MLB isn't, they could see similar damage this year.
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By Trey Lyle
The Twins were founded as the Washington Senators in 1901, but when they relocated to Minnesota before 1961, the team changed their name to the Twins, which remains today. The Twins have won two World Series, one in 1987 and the season that is the best in franchise history: 1991. The 1991 team slightly edges out the 1987 team based on wins during the regular season; the ‘87 team went 85-77 and was able to win the AL West by two games. The 1991 team won 10 more games, finishing with a record of 95-67, 8 games better than any other team in the division, which was also the best record in the American League. This was quite the turnaround for a team that went 74-88 the previous season making them the first to go from last to first and win the World Series. The 1991 Minnesota Twins went on to defeat the Toronto Blue Jays in five games in the ALCS and then go on to beat the Atlanta Braves in the World Series in a seven-game epic series, one of the best World Series of all time. A big part of their season was a 15-game winning streak the team went on to propel them from fifth place in the division to first place, a position they never gave up after that. The winning streak remains a club record. The team had a great pitching staff headlined by Scott Erickson. Erickson went 20-8 that year with a 3.18 ERA and 108 strikeouts. Erickson was joined by Jack Morris, who went 18-12 with 3.43 ERA and 163 strikeouts and Kevin Tapani, who went 16-9 with a 2.99 ERA and 135 strikeouts. The team was formidable at the plate as well, leading the American League in hits with 1,557, first in batting average with .280, and on-base percentage with .344. 1991 was a dream season for this Minnesota franchise that included an unprecedented turnaround at that time led to the 1991 Twins being the best in the franchise history. Carson Taylor became the second Virginia Tech player to be drafted on Thursday night when the Los Angeles Dodgers took him 130th overall. Taylor joins pitcher Ian Seymour in getting drafted this week.
Taylor only spent two seasons in Blacksburg, but he made a lasting impact on the Hokies. His fielding percentage of 1.000 during the 2020 season is tied for the highest of all-time, while his career fielding percentage of .998 is also the highest for a Virginia Tech player. He hit .431 with two home runs and 19 RBIs in the shortened 2020 season, a drastic increase from his .290 batting average during the 2019 season. Taylor was ranked 194th in MLB's Top 200 Draft Prospects list for 2020. His bio from the list says he "has considerable bat speed from both sides of the plate. He’s shown a good feel for the strike zone and has walked more than he’s struck out in his college career. While there’s a lot of raw power to tap into, Taylor gets pull-happy and out front on his swing too often to get to it consistently. He can make hard contact, but pitches on the outer third of the plate gave him trouble." He is also noted for his above average arm behind the plate, although his receiving skills have been rated as below average. This marks the first time in program history that two players have been drafted in the fourth round in the same draft. Taylor is now the 12th-highest pick in Virginia Tech history. Taylor will join the Dodgers, who have the third best farm system in MLB. Virginia Tech junior Ian Seymour was drafted in the second round, 57th overall, by the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday evening. Seymour was ranked 115th on MLB's Top 200 Draft Prospects list.
Seymour made an immediate impact at Virginia Tech, making it onto the 2018 ACC All-Freshman Team. He was the first freshman for the Hokies to win a Game 1 ACC start and the first to strike out 10 batters in an ACC game. Seymour improved each year in Blacksburg, culminating in a senior year in which he struck out 40 batters in 20.1 innings and finished with a 2.21 ERA. Since Virginia Tech joined the ACC in 2005, Seymour holds the record for most strikeouts per inning at 10.77. The Westborough, Mass. native spent the summer of 2019 with the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox of the Cape Cod Baseball League, where he went 2-2 with a 2.48 ERA and 39 strikeouts. According to an article by Norm Wood of the Daily Press, during his time in the Cape League, Seymour developed his four-seam fastball, which helped generate attention from professional scouts. At 57th overall, Seymour becomes the seventh-highest MLB Draft pick in Virginia Tech history and the first player picked in the second round since Chad Pinder went to the A's in 2013. Seymour will join the Rays' farm system, which is ranked first overall in MLB. Of note, the Rays General Manager is Virginia Tech alum Erik Neander. By Trey Lyle
We are now moving to the south side of Chicago to talk about the White Sox and their best season. A team founded in 1900, the White Sox only won the World Series three times and out of those three teams, one stands out over the rest of them. For their best season, we have to go way back over 100 years to the 1917 Chicago White Sox as the best season in franchise history. A team that won 100 games, which is still a team record for wins in a season, finished nine games above Boston in the American League. They went on to win the World Series against the New York Giants in six games. The team wouldn’t win another title until 2005. The team was built off of their pitching staff and had a league-best 2.16 ERA, which included four pitchers that had an ERA under 2. They also led the American League in shutouts with 21 and were third in strikeouts with 517. The staff was headlined by Eddie Cicotte, who led the AL in wins with 28 and ERA at 1.53. The team could hit as well, leading the American League in runs (656) and on-Base Percentage (.329). Plus they led the AL in stolen bases with 219. The team had three Hall of Famers in Eddie Collins, Red Faber, and Ray Schalk, but could have had more due to some of the players being a part of the infamous 1919 “Black Sox” team such as Shoeless Joe Jackson who is one of the best players not to be in the Hall of Fame. The only team to win a hundred games in franchise history and one of the best pitching staffs in the history of baseball makes the 1917 Chicago White Sox the best season in franchise history.
The first round of the 2020 MLB Draft took place last night, and it provided plenty of excitement for baseball fans who have been deprived of their sport for the past three months. While the league and the players are still unable to figure out how to play the 2020 season, 37 individuals had their lives changed last night when they got the call that they were drafted in the first round.
There were some surprising picks, and some not so surprising picks. The first round of this year's draft proved to be a historic one, with seven consecutive college players being taken to start things off. In today's blog post, I'll try to highlight some of the things that stood out to me, and some of the best picks that I saw in the first night of the draft. Best Overall Pick
This one is pretty easy. When you have as much hype surrounding you as Spencer Torkelson does, it's pretty hard not to be drafted number one overall. Whichever team had the first pick in this year's draft was going to get Torkelson, and as a result get the best pick in the first round of the draft. But the Tigers should be really happy that they ended up with him.
Detroit has the fifth-best farm system in the league according to MLB.com, with top prospects such as Casey Mize, Matt Manning and Riley Greene. Torkelson will bolster the team's infield prospects and add one of the best power bats in the draft. It's interesting that the Tigers picked Torkelson as a third baseman when he never played the position in college and was listed as a first baseman. Perhaps they're hoping he'll make his MLB debut while first baseman Miguel Cabrera is still with the team, in which case moving Torkelson to third would make sense. But putting his defensive position aside, when you have a talent like Torkelson, you have to be satisfied with that pick. The guy hit 26 home runs in his freshman season at Arizona State, shattering Barry Bonds' freshman record of 11. The team - and everyone around baseball - has high hopes for him. Most Surprising Pick
This superlative actually goes to two different picks, and they're the ones that came immediately after Torkelson. Heston Kjerstad and Max Meyer were taken second and third, respectively. And while they're certainly not bad picks, they were definitely surprising ones.
Every mock draft that I saw leading up to last night had Austin Martin going second and Asa Lacy going third, so it was a shock to see neither of them get taken in those respective spots. Kjerstad is a great pick for the Orioles though, and D1Baseball.com's Aaron Fitt has high praise for him.
As for Meyer and the Marlins, he should be a good pick, but it's tough to say why they would've passed up on Lacy, who was widely regarded as the best available pitcher tonight.
Best Value Pick
Another guy who was projected to be a top-five pick, high schooler Zac Veen fell to No. 9, ultimately going to the Colorado Rockies. A native of Spruce Creek, Fla., Veen has been compared to reigning NL MVP Cody Bellinger. He's more of a contact hitter, but has flashes of power at times.
Veen was just the second high schooler taken in the first round, following Robert Hassell III, who was taken one pick ahead of him. The fact that many teams with top 10 picks passed on him is not a reflection of his talent, but it does mean that the Rockies got a steal of a pick when he fell into their hands. Whenever he makes his MLB debut, he'll remind the eight teams that picked ahead of the Rockies what they missed out on. Round two of the MLB Draft begins tonight at 5 p.m. with coverage on ESPN2. By Trey Lyle
One of the oldest teams in baseball, founded in 1894, there are plenty of seasons to choose from in theory for the Cleveland Indians when it comes to which one is the best. But the Indians have only won the World Series twice, and that was in 1920 and 1945 respectively. The 71-year drought is the longest active championship drought in baseball. But for their best season, I'm not picking a season where they won it all, but one where they were able to win the American League pennant. The best season was the 1995 Cleveland Indians, mainly due to having one of the best regular seasons in baseball history. In a shortened season due to the previous season's strike, the team went 100-44, which is the first team in American League history to win 100 games in fewer than 154 games. The team won the AL Central by 30 games, went to the postseason to sweep the Red Sox in the ALDS and beat the Seattle Mariners in six games in the ALCS. However, the team did fall to the Atlanta Braves in the World Series in six games. The team was led by closer Jose Mesa, who finished second in the Cy Young voting, leading the league with 46 saves and the finishing pitcher in 57 games total that season. Mesa had an ERA of 1.13 that season, only giving up eight earned runs, one unearned, and three home runs during the entire season. The team also had the second-place finisher in the AL MVP race with Albert Belle, who led the league in RBIs with 126, home runs with 50, and slugging percentage at .690. The team also was headlined by a young Manny Ramirez and Hall of Famers Jim Thome, Eddie Murray and Dave Winfield. As a team, they led the American League in home runs with 207, stolen bases with 132, on-base percentage at .361, and slugging at .479. The pitching staff led the league in ERA at 3.93 and was third in strikeouts with 926 Ks during the season. The 1995 Indians were one of the best teams ever not to win it all, and it makes them the best team in Indians' history due to being the best team ever assembled in the Land.
Are we getting close to a 2020 MLB season? Maybe. Maybe not. I don't think anybody really knows. As of right now though, we've got another proposal on what the season could look like if it happens.
MLB proposes 76-game season
MLB gave the players association another season proposal yesterday, as first reported by ESPN's Karl Ravech. The plan includes a 76-game season and would pay players 75 percent of their prorated salary.
Ravech called the plan "significant" in moving towards a deal, but the players have said otherwise. Players are not happy with new proposal
Multiple players took to Twitter to voice their frustration with the latest plan, including St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Jack Flaherty.
As pointed out by CBS Sports' Mike Axisa, each plan MLB has offered the players has consisted of them getting paid roughly 33 percent of their salary, but in various forms.
The players are fed up and want a different proposal, but it seems as if they're still at an impasse with the owners. Angel Hernandez eavesdropped on a investigative call
If you heard that an umpire was eavesdropping on a call that was investigating their umpiring, would you expect anyone other than Angel Hernandez.
Hernandez, a notoriously bad umpire, was the crew chief during a game between the Red Sox and the Rays last season that was delayed for 14 minutes due to confusion about the rules. (If you want an entertaining summary of what happened in that game, check out this video.) According to The Athletic, MLB launched an investigation into the incident, and Hernandez got a little too involved. Here's what Daniel Kaplan of The Athletic says: "According to MLB legal filings Friday in the lawsuit, after the July 24 Rays-Red Sox contest, the league under then-chief baseball officer Joe Torre launched an investigation into the confusion and interviewed the umpires involved in the game. Torre then later claimed Hernandez did not get off the phone when his interview ended and listened to the interview of umpire Ed Hickox. MLB conducted a separate call with Hernandez on Aug. 19 to question him on the alleged eavesdropping." Really, this isn't surprising, and it's just a bad look for Hernandez. If you need a refresher on how bad of an umpire he is, just search his name on Twitter and you'll find all kinds of videos of blown calls. By Trey Lyle
So for the first time on the American League side of the Best Seasons series, we have a team that has not won a World Series in the Tampa Bay Rays. This is a relatively young franchise founded in 1998, making them a year younger than both Matt and myself. The team didn't have much early success, finishing last in the AL East in nine of its first ten seasons. Their best season in franchise history came when the team entered its 11th year, and the 2008 Tampa Bay Rays were by far the best season in team history. This was the first time the team had a winning record, finishing the season with a 97-65 record and winning the AL East. In the postseason, the team went on to beat the White Sox in four games in the ALDS and the Red Sox in seven games in the ALCS. This is to date the team's only pennant. The Rays ultimately fell to the Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series in five games. A trademark of this team was its ability to win close games, which included 11 walk-off wins. The Rays were also led by their pitching staff with a 3.82 ERA, second in the AL, and were fourth in the AL with 1,143 strikeouts during the season. The team was fast around the diamond, leading the AL with 142 stolen bases. A team that set a new standard for what Rays baseball could be as well as putting Joe Maddon on the map, the 2008 Tampa Bay Rays are their best season in franchise history. In what seems to be a never-ending back and forth between the MLB owners and the players association, the owners have made another proposal on how to play the 2020 season.
ESPN's Karl Ravech was the first with the news this morning. He reported that the proposal includes:
There have now been multiple proposals on the table with a wide range of options, but the two sides don't seem to have made much progress. Ravech added that this proposal is a "significant move towards players demands and effort to play more." For a full rundown of how the negotiations have played out thus far, check out this story from CBS Sports. While this could signal that the two sides are getting closer to a deal, the general consensus from fans on Twitter - and I know Twitter doesn't always reflect reality, but it's helpful at times - is that there won't be a season in 2020. MLB Network insider Jon Heyman reported that the players are not thrilled with the proposal, so we could be hanging in for a few more days, or weeks, until a deal gets done. |
AuthorMatthew Atkins, Journalist and Baseball fan. Archives
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